HSU Plans to Reduce Budget by $9,000,000

Humboldt State University HSUPress release from Humboldt State University:

 

Decisions on Budget Reductions

After extensive review of the challenges facing us and following consultation across campus, the President’s Cabinet has reached a number of decisions regarding budget reductions. We all take these decisions very seriously; they will have a profound impact on many members of the HSU community.

The Cabinet’s plan to reduce the budget by $9 million will have effects across campus, but the University will be in a much more secure financial position as a result and therefore better able to serve our students. The attached plan is not an “across the board cut”, but rather it outlines a process that will make strategic reductions in the functional areas of the campus. Impacted areas will continue to be engaged where reduction details still need further refinement.

I want to thank the URPC for helping to engage the University community in the budget discussion. I welcome feedback and additional perspective, including how we can best continue to engage in these discussions and your advice about implementation of the actions identified here. Please provide additional comments by Friday, March 16, so that we can stay on track to meet our goal of providing the campus with the 2018-19 budget by March 29.

Taken as whole, the reductions will help HSU address the projected $7 million deficit we face in 2018-19, which would have grown to a projected $9 million the following year if we were not taking action now. The Cabinet members are aware how difficult these changes will be for many areas of campus, but we have concluded that these decisions are imperative. We are proactively addressing the larger deficit now to alleviate the looming fiscal emergency.

The budget decisions outlined by the Cabinet demonstrate a serious effort to better manage our budget while minimizing the impact on our students’ educational experience. Throughout the process of making these decisions, students have remained our central focus. Our priority is making sure we do everything possible to help them be successful. They deserve our very best efforts, which means we must establish responsible, sustainable budgets that allow us to invest in the changing needs of our students.

As a University, we remain committed to investing in our highest priorities. Balancing budgets is not enough. For HSU to thrive into the future, we must continue to build upon our strengths and our values around student success, social justice, and environmental responsibility. In recent years, this focus has led to adding new tenure-track faculty, efforts related to equity and diversity, expansion of student support services, creation of place-based learning communities, and a new Center for Teaching and Learning.

HSU’s success is built on everyone’s efforts. Our current situation does not change that – in fact it enhances the need for our collective continued good work.

The Cabinet’s budget reduction decisions are outlined in this document (pdf).

More information and resources are available on the HSU Budget Office website.

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Dude
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Dude
6 years ago

As an hsu graduate (class of 09), I can say that the degrees hsu gives out aren’t worth the paper they are printed on. Hsu offers basically bullshit degrees that won’t actually make you a living in our changing world. My generation was oversold on the idea that any college degree was worthwhile and would get you a good job. Today’s youth are all to aware of the debt associated with higher education and are focusing on getting degrees in fields like nursing or engineering that actually provide you with a valuable skill. The kind of degrees hsu doesn’t offer. Additionally hsu has grown way too large for the community to sustain. Rents and general cost of living is becoming expensive up here and there is simply not enough space for an ever increasing student population in arcata. Hsu has instead focused on bringing up kids from Los Angeles or other areas that as it turns out don’t really vibe with the area and leave after a year. If hsu metric for being a successful school is ever increasing enrollment then we have a problem, it’s simply not sustainable growth. Hsu needs to instead cut the bullshit classes and degrees and refocus into providing educational opportunities that are in demand relevant in the future. I’m sorry there are only so many sociology or anthropology majors that the world needs.

hmm
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hmm
6 years ago
Reply to  Dude

Depends entirely on your major. Myself, and many of my cohort, who majored in the sciences are doing very well.

Adam Harrold
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Adam Harrold
6 years ago
Reply to  Dude

Do students no longer choose their own areas of study?

TD
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TD
6 years ago

There is something of a baby bust going on right now, especially in California, which ultimately means fewer high school grads, fewer college applicants and fewer college students. Many universities are scrambling for warm bodies. Also, the state provides a smaller portion of its colleges’ and universities’ total budgets so more must be made up out of tuition. You see a lot of schools try to make this up with adult and foreign students, but is HSU a draw for rich foreigners? Second tier schools such as HSU are in a tough situation that will only get tougher.

It’s never really been easy for graduates from second tier schools in soft majors such as sociology or anthropology, but many graduates of state colleges with more vocationally oriented degrees do well. If any such students are reading this, my two cents would be to also take a course or two in accounting and marketing.

hmm
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hmm
6 years ago

Cut administrative salaries. Administrators make insane amounts of money.

Big ol' Jar of Pickles
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Big ol' Jar of Pickles
6 years ago
Reply to  hmm

You have to imagine that salary cuts are not even considered when it comes to balancing the budget. They just threaten the community with the loss of beloved activities like football and the nursing program. This is Mismanagement 101…

Ha ha
Guest
Ha ha
6 years ago

All the people I’ve met that go to college there do nothing but bong rips all day. So, their parents are paying for an education for them to learn how to be a professional bong ripper. That’ll will be awesome for their future. Haha!

fuckwalterwhite.com
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fuckwalterwhite.com
6 years ago

9 million? Damn! Better hope they don’t get a lawsuit for some student’s racist or sexist actions.